Philly/NJ PUG part 2

Yeah, we had a really great time. Here are those pics from the photo booth.

Philly/NJ PUG Holiday Party

We had our holiday party last night. While we did not have near the showing we would have liked the people that did show up had a blast. We bowled two games, had lots to eat and drink and were very merry. It was a great time had by all.

Here I am concentrating hard, straight down the middle! I am not good at bowling.

Heather Fowler showing her stuff

Ryan Estes, master bowler.

Sofia Negron and her sparkley ball.

Chris, who won both games and was very nonchalant about the whole thing. He was good.

Ryan again, a full succession depicting his true form of bowling.

Los Angeles, OC & Clairmont Holiday Party!

Los Angeles, Orange County and Clairmont PUGs had our holiday party at the very cool Life on Wilshire. The party went from 7:30 to 11:30pm... it was great!

One of my PUG members, Zephrine Hanson, came up to me as she was leaving just to tell me how much she has appreciated the monthly meetings. She told me that not only has she really grown in her business because of them, but the community that Pictage and the PUGs has provided her as a photographer has been invaluable. Hearing her say that made me so happy!!



PUG leaders Lauren Hillary, Julie Weaver & Jules Bianchi



The party people!!!

Phoenix PUG Holiday Party!

Last night was the PUG Holiday party! So fun!! This concludes our second year together meeting monthly as a community. I've made so many great friends through this group and continue to meet new ones! Phoenix has so many amazing photographers who are also great people and I feel so blessed to know many of them.

Here's a fun group photo. Everyone got together and hung out in this pose for about 10 minutes while Tod ran out to his car to get AA batteries for my flash. I got a good lesson in being prepared!



Melissa Jill :)

PGH PUG Holiday Party Recap: 12.04.2007

Wow! We had a blast! Thanks soooooooooo much, to Pictge for having PUGs in the first place, and for supporting us throughout the year and with the party! It was a blast!

The usual suspects came: (left to right in the photo) Sommer and Mike Purvis, Terry Clark, Kelly Crawford, Kim Reed, Dana Scheller, Melody Farrin, Tony Araujo, Karen and me. Buca di Beppo was our choice for our dinner; re pleat with great food and even a Baritone-singing waiter! It was full of great conversations, lots of laughter a few toasts for success in the new year and lots of conversation about how we wouldn't know what we'd do without the great services and products Pictage provides us.

Honestly, it was so nice to relax and enjoy each others company, talk a little shop and laugh and let our hair down it made me wish we could do it all the time. OH! Wait; we DO do this all the time! Every month at our PUG meetings!

A BIG thanks goes out to Pictage for supporting us through our second year of PUG gatherings. It's my pleasure to be involved in such a great community with such great shooters on the local and national levels.

On to 2008 with continued and abundant success for all of us!

Best, Joanne

Just a Little Bit Crazy

I'm not much of a blogger. My wife, Whitney, takes care of our studio blog page. However, I would like to share an activity of the TN PUG group.

A few months back we spent the evening at Lifetime Portraits. As our local topic, we were supposed to take head shots of each other. As you can see, things did not really go as planned. We had a lot of fun and learned a little from each other in the process. We were also reminded what it was like to be on “the other side” of the camera.

- peter

Peter Carlson - Dove Wedding Photography

Whitney Carlson - Dove Wedding Photography

Mindy & Phil Thornton - Thornton Photo

David Pavol & David Wright

The Gang

Pittsburgh PUG Holiday GetToGether!

It's that time of the year, the holidays, and the end to our 2007 season. I hope everyone had a great year - let's talk about it!

We are having our 2nd Annual PUG Holiday GetToGether:
WHEN: Tuesday, December 4th
TIME: 6:30 PM
WHERE: Station Square / Buca di Beppo
LINK: http://www.bucadibeppo.com/locations/location.aspx?location=3802

As a PUG member, please feel free to bring your significant other and another photographer who may not be a member of our PUG - let's get them into the fold!

Pictage is expensing $150 for us to cover expenses for our GTG - WHICH IS GREAT OF THEM!...be sure to tell them so and thank them for it...so, I'll probably be asking that everyone chip in maybe $20+ bucks per person to help me cover the remaining costs after the Pictage contribution, depending on the final bill, of course.

Wanna hang out after our meal? Weather permitting, we could go to the ice rink in PPG plaza, or see the window decorations at Macy's, or head out for more celebrating, if you know what I mean ;-) !

I'm really looking forward to some relaxing, so drag another shooter along and I'll see you there!

Best, Joanne

Knoxville PUG Christmas Party Info

Location:
Oodles18 Market Square, Knoxville, TN 37902 US
When: Thursday, December 13, 6:00PM
Cost:$30 per person


It's that time of year again!!! Time for us all to get together and celebrate!We have planned a great party to take place in downtown Knoxville at Oodles in Market Square. We have reserved the Green Room, so come and enjoy a fun and relaxing time with your peers as we reflect on 2007 and look forward to 2008.

MENU
Homemade Foccacia Bread w/ Herbed Olive Oil
Choice of House Salad w/ Balsamic Dressing or Caesar Salad
Choice of Entree: Iron Skillet Ribeye, Morocan Braised Chicken, Wild Mushroom Pasta or Fresh Fish of the Day
Choice of Beverage (alcohol can be purchased separately)
Choice of Dessert: Classic Tiramisu or Holiday Spiced Cheesecake

Cost: $30 per person
RSVP and payment is required by December 1

After dinner, you can even enjoy some shopping in Market Square or we can all have fun skating around the ice rink! I hope you all can join us!!! I look forward to celebrating with you!

Jamie Weiss
(865) 233-2257
jamie@jamieweiss.com

Philly November PUG

We had our November Philly PUG today and I filled in for Sofia who got a job at the last minute. We had a great time at Josh Gardner's Studio. Josh went over Lightroom and I think everyone learned something they didn't know about it today. We talked about the new products that Pictage wants to roll out in 2008, everyone was on board with the canvas prints, but nobody wants the client to be able to order them. There was concern about quality control and packaging though.
Everyone was on board to allowing their clients to purchase framed prints on Pictage of any size.
We covered a lot of Pictage topics and I have a ton of feedback to share. We also talked about what we would like to cover in future meetings. These topics are:
copyright issues
accounting/book keeping
insurance
marketing

There may be a few more I am not thinking of at the moment. But those are all great topics. So I think we will work on covering them, bringing people in to talk. I would like to try and get someone in from ASMP to talk to us.

I believe we are going to combine the New Jersey and Philadelphia PUGs for the holiday party. I have to chat with Laura but I think Dec 13th is the day set for Philly. We are going to have it at North Bowl, an awesome retro bowling alley in the hip neighborhood of The Northern Liberties. Should be a lot of fun.

-Joy

Coming to a PUG near you!! :)

Hey guys!

Justin and I are going to be visiting some PUGs this winter to talk about relationships and how important they are for our businesses, especially our relationships with other photographers and how amazing PUG is for that!! We're trying to figure out the schedule and where all we're gonna be able to go, so if any of you leaders think that's something you'd be interested in for your group please feel free to shoot us an email at justin@imagine-imaging and we'll see if we can get it set up. It would be such a HUGE help in trying to figure all this out! Serioulsy, thank you guys SO much in advance! I feel so blessed by all of you that I already know and I can't wait to meet even more of you!

xoxo
Mary:)

Lightroom: Huge Success

Lightroom.

We just had our PUG meeting for October on Monday. When I arrived and saw that the room was completely packed my jaw dropped. I knew we had had a LOT of rsvps but wasn't sure that all of the people would actually come out. We had the most well attended PUG meeting I think we've ever had. We counted 30 people although somehow they didn't all make it onto my list. We had at least 10 people show up who have never been to a PUG meeting. I've had a number of people email me about what a great time they had, how much they learned, and how surprised they were to find so many other photographers so willing to share. The photographers who presented about Lightroom were so helpful and hung out afterwards to help answer any additional questions. I'm thrilled with the turnout and what a success it ended up being.

Next month.

For next month we're considering doing a library night similar to what Pictage suggested. One of the photographer's has a software program that will track barcodes and all kinds of things to actually set up a library among all of the Utah photographers. (Not sure if this is going to fly yet or not...) We're planning to ask everyone to bring one or two of their fave photography or biz books and give a review on them mentioning how the book has helped their business, creativity, etc. It will be the launch of having a short book review every month. I'll let you know how it goes.

Next year.

One of the big things I'm doing since the year is winding down and I've had the last bit of the year to get a feel for being PUG leader is to sit down and make a plan for next year. I'm hoping to come up with topics for each PUG meeting over the next 12 months so that I can get in touch with guest speakers for next year. If any of you PUG leaders are going to be in the Utah area in the upcoming months, let me know, I'd love to have you be a guest speaker at our PUG. My only concern is that I want the meetings to cater to the people who attend the PUG so I'm hoping I'll be able to have a schedule that will be flexible enough to change if necessary.

Tell me.

What are some ideas you have for the upcoming month?

Have fun!

Happiness,
Davina

Nov. '07 Pittsburgh PUG: contracts & pricing

Yes, we are nearing the 2007 season end; end of photographing weddings perhaps, but there is never an end to evaluating our businesses, from work flow to contracts and everything in between!

Our Pittsburgh, PA PUG will be focusing (pun intended!) on reviewing contracts, booking policies, cancellation policies and cancellation contracts, delivery memos and all the C-Y-A involved in operating our business. We plan to share documents then discuss, add to and advise and I'm hoping that a friend of mine that does contract law and mediation will attend as a guest speaker!

Our December PUG will be for networking purposes between all of us and we will be inviting as many shooters from around the area to join Pictage and our PUG!

Share the LOVE! ~ Joanne

November workflow in Philly

So, I have had a lot of requests to talk more about workflow. i think as the season is almost over people are really drowning in work. The big wedding push is almost over but the squeeze before the holidays for portraits and the orders are rolling in and we can't seem to make head nor tail. For those that had DJ visit their PUG last year with his workflow seminar, have made huge strides with their workflow but there is still a lot that needs to be worked out. We will be discussing tips on what works and doesn't and we will have a lightroom and bridge demo. If anyone is like me, I learn much better by doing and hate having to read books and manuals on how stuff works. So, I think the lightroom and bridge demo will be really great for everyone who may not be familiar with one of these programs or at least some great shortcuts.

As things begin to slow down, it may be a really great time to revisit your workflow and see what worked and didn't work during the season. it really helps to share so that next year we can do even better and have more time for family, friends and our business. Besides we want to have plenty of time to party in December.

Pictage Pumpkin Carving Contest

Hey guys, we thought you'd enjoy this! We're holding a contest tomorrow here in the office to see which department can carve the best pumpkin. We decided to enter our "Pug'kin". Wish us luck!
~Emily and Becky

November Meeting Ideas

It seems my scavenger hunt idea was just that... a good idea. Getting the NJ folks motivated seems to be a real chore or I can just chalk it up as a bad timing thing. Most if not all probably attended PhotoPlus and we are still winding down from a really busy wedding season. So sadly Laura and I made the call to cancel the hunt last night as we only had 4 confirmed participants and none of them were Pictage members. I would still liked to have done it, but after hearing Laura out she made the point that 2 teams of 2 wouldn't be much of an event. So we'd be better off saving the clues for a better run at it on a later date.

The idea I have for Nov came from a conversation with one of our local guys. John Schafer was at Jason G's Pre-PhotoPlus party and we were catching up on his experience on the Revolution workshop. He said his favorite part was being able to try out new lenses. So my lightbulb turned on (if you know Laura she'd say candle) and I have this new idea.

I'd be willing to bet all of us have bought or wanted a lens without realizing it's not what we need, only to regret it later. So Laura and I are gonna try and get some lenses together for the next meeting and have a hands on, try before you buy, kinda setup for the next PUG. Basically we want to give folks the experience we wished we had before we blew some money on lenses we now collect dust with in a closet.

So if anyone is looking for an idea for their next meeting, try doing this. For those of you within driving distance of us I'm open to a combined meeting, especially if we can get Canon on board by sending us a rep with some glass as they are only about 30mins from us.

Let us know your thoughts and your ideas for the next meeting!
- Paul & Laura

unofficial San Francisco Bay Area PUG mascot

shows off his new T shirt.

Hi everyone! Make sure to note that our Oct PUG will be taking place in Oakland, not San Francisco, at our alternate location--the home studio of AGB Photographics. Here is the address:

5040 Daisy St
Oakland, CA 94619

And a big shout out to Angela for opening her home to us.

This month I had planned to continue some of the business basics stuff we talked about at last months PUG...but those of you who watch the Pictage forums (or OSP, or Fred Miranda, or DWF) will know that a more immediate concern has come up. This issue is multifaceted; involving such topics as marketing, client communication, studio reputation and branding, as well as the future of the industry and the role that each individual photographer and studio can play in it. I think it's vital for the photography community to talk about this stuff, and to turn a learning experience for one into a learning experience for all.

...and that's probably as much as I can say on the topic right now as I am technically on Pictage turf. Check the aforementioned forums to find out more.

I look forward to seeing all of you there! Remember it's Wednesday, October 24th, at 630PM.

Philly PUG has guest speaker- marketing, business plans and pricing

We will be having a guest speaker talk more about pricing, marketing and business plans. Three meeting ago we had a business guru come in and I was surprised how little people actually understood about branding, business plans and target marketing. The biggest question from that night was, how do we get people to book on us and not on price. Well I am hoping that this question will get answered more in depth at theis meeting.

I also sent out a survey to get feedback from all the Philly photographers so that we can increase attendance. Our numbers are usually steady at around 5 people.

Any ideas on how to increase attendance? Do you find people like a more social atmosphere or when you really present something related to biz or technique?

NJ PUG Scavenger Hunt

Tuesday Oct 23rd @ 6:30pm we're meeting at the Princeton Panera Bread to kick off a fun scavenger hunt.

We are asking everyone to bring their favorite camera, a lens capable of around 50mm or something similar, basically something good for low light and candid type shots. Brin your walking shoes! AND FLASHES! & wireless triggers if you have them.

Jason Groupp and Paul Eaton will be teaching those that don't know, a little lesson on rear curtain sync and off camera flash to use in the hunt. Then off ya go!

We're gonna break eveyone up into a few teams and then send you out with a list of clues and things to photograph. We're gonna set a time limit on the hunt so we don't have people wandering the streets of Princeton into the wee hours of the night. Then we'll reconvene for scoring and/or judging and award prizes.

I'm awaiting further news on prizes but so far Pictage has been very generous to offer up $100 credit.

This is going to be an awesome break from the norm in NJ. We hope to get a great turnout.

-Joy

Lightroom next month. What are you doing next month?

We've started having our PUG meetings at various studios and as much as I thought our attendence would diminish it's actually increased.

This past month the spot light studio introduced us to his work as well as showed us few images from his trip to Africa. Everyone was interested to know how he planned for the trip, what he took, etc. Now we're scheduling him to speak again on how to plan a photo safari trip. We also had another member present on getting organized and staying organized in your studio and in your life. It was a huge hit and people stuck around to talk to her.

During the course of our meeting everyone was asking questions about lightroom. We decided it should be our next meeting. We told everyone to bring their laptops with at least the demo downloaded. Three people in our group love and know lightroom very well. They are each going to teach a portion of how to use lightroom next month.

Everyone was feeling so excited about the next meeting that there were people that hung out until past 11pm. For our PUG that's pretty late.

Thanks to Justin and Mary for getting this blog started. I'm so excited to check it out for more ideas about what you're doing to make your pug awesome!!!

What are you doing next month?

Happiness,
Davina

salt lake city, utah pug leader

Ideas for the Holidays

Hey PUG Leaders and PUG-ees!

We had a fun, small meeting last night here in Atlanta and had some GREAT ideas thrown out on ideas for holiday portraits. I'll list a few out here:

Sarah: She's planning a few days of "mini-sessions" for the holidays and will be shooting in B&W so the pictures can be sold ALLLLL year round, not just for the holidays. She'll be offering colorful holiday card designs with the B&W pics for cards.

Gary Idea#1: He's having his Boy Scout troupe doing the selling for him! He'll be donating a bunch of portrait session shoots (coupons will be made up) and the little guys will sell them for $20 for a mini-portrait-session in the park. The Boy Scout Troupe gets all the proceeds but Gary will still make all of his profits off the product sales.

Gary Idea#2: Get in with a Country Club. It's the only time to catch a lot of dads for family portraits! He's arranged it before with a Club so that he just takes their member # down, the club bills the family, then cuts Gary a check. Brilliant!

Jennifer: She and her husband are doing some fab portraits of Themselves! The idea is twofold: a great holiday card, and also to let friends and family promo them as they are new to full-time photography.

Jody: Jody is new to Pictage, so he'll be sending a TON of past events to Pictage for upload so they can be a part of the Holiday Promotions.

Me: Thanks to a massive computer crash this week, my bright idea had nothing to do with the Holidays except to make SURE you're sending ALL Pics to Pictage for double-back-up and have a solid recovery/back-up plan in place. ;)

Can't wait to see more fun stuff up here! Any ideas on what you all are doing for November and December meetings!?

Cheers!

Liana

Spread the Love

Mary and I just wanted to share with you our CT PUG video that we made for PartnerCon LA. It's just a bunch of us being silly and having a great time! Check it out up on cutframe.tv (or if you have an iPhone you can see it on youtube also)

= Justin =

Welcome!

Welcome to the new PUG leader's blog! This is a place for all of us to share ideas, images, news, and any other exciting PUG info you might have. It's also a great way for us to get to know more about each other and other groups across the country. If you are a PUG leader, please send me your email address (to justin@imagine-imaging.com) so I can add you as an author to the blog. This way everyone can login and post!